is Senior Lecturer in Social Work at the University of Bedfordshire.
Louise has been studying the role of empathy in fostering resilience in
social workers in the UK.
She says, "My teaching interests are in children and families social work
and in particular in developing reflective practice for effective social
work and developing supervision knowledge and skills in social workers. My
research focus is on reflective practice and developing emotional
resilience for social work practice"
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- Exploring Stress Resilience in Trainee Social Workers: The
Role of Emotional and Social Competencies.
"The high levels of stress and burnout endemic to social work have been
found to contribute to the current retention problems in the UK. It has
been argued that resilience is a protective factor that enhances the
ability to manage stress, and promotes well-being in the social care
context. Little is known, however, about the individual difference
factors that promote resilience in this context, or whether this
protects the well-being of staff. In order to inform the development of
interventions to enhance the work-related well-being of early career
social workers, this study examined several emotional and social
competencies (i.e. emotional intelligence, reflective ability, empathy
and social competence) as predictors of resilience in 240 trainees. "
14 January 2013 - Empathic social workers at higher risk
of burnout and stress
"Social workers who display high levels of empathy for
clients report higher levels of stress, anxiety and depression than
colleagues, researchers find. Social
workers with high levels of empathy for their clients are more at risk
of burning out, particularly if they are unable to manage their emotions
and reflect on their practice effectively, research reveals.
Findings from a study of over 300 social work trainees found that the
more empathic social workers reported higher levels of stress, anxiety
and depression than their colleagues. Distress was also higher among
students who had a lower ability to reflect on their practice
Emotional resilience in social work
- Practice guide
"Do you struggle to manage your emotional reactions to stressful
situations at work? Do you find yourself becoming overwhelmed by service
users’ feelings and experiences? Do you have trouble finding solutions
to difficult problems?
Social work can be a demanding, stressful job at the best of times so
emotional resilience, or the ability to bounce back when life becomes
challenging, is an essential skill for social workers."